


Broken Pieces

by AbelianGrape



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Eventual Romance, F/M, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Battle of Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-07-20 18:05:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16142615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbelianGrape/pseuds/AbelianGrape
Summary: The previous students of Hogwarts return after the battle to finish their education with their eighth year at the school. Draco Malfoy is among those to return, but the war has changed him. Will anyone be able to fix him or will the damage be permanent?Originally posted on Fanfiction.net





	1. Chapter 1

He leaned back in the seat, running a hand through his hair, closing his eyes to try and block everything out. Every glare, every whispered conversation, every accusing pointed finger, every feeling of a pair of eyes fixed on him, every judgmental look, every conversation hushed as he walked past and every mother pulling her child close to keep them away from the evil that he now represented. He tried to ignore it, as his left forearm itched under his black sleeves. He didn't want to be here, but he knew it was his duty. He was doing this for his mother, for no one else, he was here to drag himself away from the reclusive life he had slunk into over the last year and a half.

He sighed. This was a huge mistake. He had tried to destroy this school, and now he was returning as if nothing had happened. But he knew, whatever excuse he used, he knew that it was his fault, and he couldn't pass the blame on to anyone else.

A year and a half. That was how long it took for them to fix up the castle after the battle. As soon as the castle was restored, they had invited all of the seventh years back to complete their education. He knew it was for the best, but he didn't want to be here staying in the same building as the very people he fought against.

Now he sat alone, once he would have been surrounded by his best friends by now, but they were all but gone now. Pansy would be returning in a few days, Blaise would be the only other of his original group that would join him for the train journey, and he hadn't appeared yet. The rest? Some had been killed during the fight, some had fled the country with their parents and siblings in an effort to avoid the war altogether, while others had gone into hiding. He knew then, that he would never see all of his friends back together smiling and laughing like they had once. They were gone, and it was his fault.

The compartment door slid open, and Draco's eyes snapped open, as the noise of the crowds of other people on the train flooded in like a tsunami, before being blocked out as Blaise shut the door again, pulling the blinds to prevent nosy young children from peering through the glass at the broken man, like he was an animal in a zoo. Blaise shook his head as he looked at Draco, no, he wasn't a man anymore, he was fragile like a young child, who just wanted to run away and hide. He worried about Draco, he knew that his best friend blamed himself, and he knew how badly he had been damaged by the war. At that point, sitting opposite the once proud Malfoy heir, he promised himself that he would do everything he could to protect Draco from the hatred that he would be facing back at Hogwarts.

* * *

Draco slunk into the back of the great hall, taking his seat at the Slytherin table, trying his hardest to blend into the shadows. It worked as the attention of the hall was pulled to the nervous children standing ready to be sorted. He looked up and down the long tables. Every house had suffered losses, but the table of snakes was greatly depleted, a large number of their students having been on the losing side of the war.

He rubbed at his arm, the material of his sleeve raising to show the very edge of the horrifying mark that had been branded into his skin. God he just wanted the year to be over already. Professor McGonagall stood, moving to the lectern at the front of the hall, beginning her first speech as headmistress.

"Now, I would like to welcome all those of you starting your first year at Hogwarts, and I would also like to welcome back last year's seventh years who have returned to complete their education. Of course, all of you remember the last thing that occurred at this school, we lost many fine students and professors to that battle, and I would like to remind you that many of the older students sitting here now fought bravely that night. I would also like to say one more thing on that topic, we may have fought against each other then, but now we must join together to build a better future for everyone instead of continuing arguments that need to be put to rest now. So, we must all be respectful of one another and work together. No I will cease rambling, and let you enjoy the feast," She sat back down, and the food appeared on the golden plates, as it had every time before. 

But Draco didn't touch anything, he stayed still, as if he had been frozen solid, his grey eyes betrayed not even a flicker of emotion. Blaise looked up worried as his friend continued not to eat.

"Draco, you need to eat something, you can't just waste away, hey" he said waving a hand in his face, moving some food onto Draco's plate. Before sighing and going back to his own meal. 

At the end of the feast, he rushed round to his friend and shielded him from the curious looks from the other students, as they made their way back towards the Slytherin dungeons. Seeing as they were the only Slytherin boys who had returned for their eighth year, they had shared a dormitory, and both went straight to their beds when they arrived in the room. But Draco stayed awake late into the night, just staring up at the canopy over the bed, thinking about everything until he finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

When Blaise woke the room was empty, they had been back at Hogwarts for a few weeks now, and Draco had barely said more than a few words. Blaise sighed as he got dressed, he doubted Draco would ever be the same again. He made his way down to the common room, where he was surprised to see Draco, his thin form folded into an armchair by the fire, reading a book. Normally, in the mornings, Blaise would see little to nothing of Draco, who would have disappeared off into some hidden corner off the castle, but today was different.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked slowly, Draco shook his head.

"I can't, I just can't" he mumbled, never looking up from his book. Blaise took this as a sign that the boy needed space and so he started making his way up to the great hall.

As he sat down in his seat he was interrupted from his thoughts by a group of first and second years, one boy was shoved forwards, and he seemed to be shaking ever so slightly as he looked up at the older student.

"Can I help you?" Blaise asked curiously, the boy seemed to be growing more and more nervous by the second, and looked as though he was going to back out of the conversation until on of his friends poked him in the ribs.

"Er, is it true? Are you really friends with," he paused, Blaise knew immediately where this was headed "you know... him?" the boy finished lamely, ad Blaise sighed inwardly before nodding.

"What's he like?" the boy asked, excitedly, his nervousness evaporating, "Is he like they say he is? Did he really do all those awful things that they say he did? And does he actually have..." the boy trailed off gesturing wildly at his arm.

"Here's a suggestion for you," Blaise sighed, "leave Draco alone, and don't listen to those awful rumours" he finished before standing up and storming off towards his first lesson, feeling great pity towards his friend. Would anyone ever be able to fix the poor boy before he went insane?

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

The girl took her seat in the back of the potions lab and looked around at the other students in her lesson. There were a few faces she didn't recognise, but that was to be expected. She scanned the room again, searching out any people she knew, and was not surprised when her search was fruitless, after all, she was just one of those quiet Ravenclaw girls, who just got on with her work and always tried her hardest to blend in with the shadows.

At that point, Professor Slughorn entered and she looked straight ahead to concentrate on the lesson, ignoring her classmates. Slughorn started talking, explaining to the class what they would be doing over the course of the year. He then proceeded to tell them that they would be working in one fixed pair for the entire year, at this point he began to pair people up, she zoned out, only slightly listening for her name to be called.

"... and lastly, Mr Malfoy would you please pair with Miss Jones" she heard him finish, and she looked up, nearly jumping out of her skin to see the man she had been partnered with already standing there. He sat down in silence as the professor continued teaching. She glanced sideways at her new potions partner. He was tall and slim, verging on malnourished, but through his shirt she could tell he was toned. She glanced up at his face, he had very defined cheek bones and his grey eyes were a beautiful colour. Looking closer at his eyes she could now see exactly what rumour said, they may have been beautiful, but they were cold and dead, blank of emotion, and they made her subconsciously shiver. His hair was platinum blonde, but it looked like it had once been short and styled, but was now growing out and had an unkempt look about it. She was sure that he had once been rather attractive, but his pale skin was now sallow, and there were bags under his eyes, as though he hadn't slept properly in years.

At this point she realised she had been staring, and so quickly turned away, embarrassed. He glanced round at her, giving her a strange look that she didn't see, before refocusing on the lesson. Because it was the first lesson of the year they didn't do anything practical, but instead discussed what they would be doing among other things. At the end of the lesson he grabbed his bag and hurried out, leaving behind the rest of the class who began muttering amongst themselves. As she stood, two of her friends rushed over to her, Padma Patil and Terry Boot.

"Oh Isabella, I feel so sorry for you!" Padma exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'd hate to be stuck with a snake for the whole year, not to mention the fact that he was a Death Eater," Terry said loudly, and a few others joined their group, suddenly interested in their conversation.

"What's he like?" inquired a girl from Hufflepuff that Isabella didn't recognise.

"Er, there's not really much to say. He just sat there in silence the whole time. I don't think he's going to talk much, which is good, and he looks kind of... ill" she finished not knowing what else there was to say about the strange boy, why were they even asking her? She'd only been sitting next to him for about five minutes it seemed.

"Does he have a dark mark? Did you see it?" asked some random Gryffindor boy.

"I don't know," she began, but paused, thinking. She had noticed out of the corner of her eye, that he seemed to have been occasionally rubbing his left arm, as thought there was indeed something there that he was ashamed of, "I don't know, I think he might have one but I'm not sure..." she trailed off, and some of the group now seemed to disappear now that their questions had been answered. Isabella remained deep in thought as she made her way to their next lesson, she was confused by the young man, and now she wanted answers of her own.

* * *

The only other lesson Isabella shared with the strange ex-Death Eater was Defence Against the Dark Arts, but in this lesson he was cold and distant and never spoke a word to anyone except from his friend, Zabini, who kept a constant whispered conversation running. They had been at school for just over a month before anything of interest happened. Draco had slowly managed to move himself out of the views and interests of the rest of the students, by not attracting any attention to himself in any way. In fact now Isabella thought about it, nobody had heard him speak since the start of the year. 

It was in a DADA lesson when the first major thing happened involving him. Draco was late to the lesson, and by the time he arrived everyone had taken their seats, he tried to sneak in quietly and take his seat next to Blaise. However someone noticed him and sent a jinx in his direction, causing him to fall over hitting his head on the edge of the desk. He struggle to get up as the jinx pinned him to the floor, he finally managed to get up with the help of Blaise, who tried to lead him towards their seats, but the damage was done. He felt the anger bubble up inside, all of the hatred, and every other emotion that he had suppressed. The sudden change in his emotions caused a wave of magic to ripple out, shoving the desks nearest to him up against the walls. The shock on everyone's faces seemed to enrage him even more, and he whipped out his wand, pointing it threateningly at the Gryffindor who had sent the jinx. At that point Harry abruptly stood up, and turned to their teacher.

"Why is he even allowed in here? This is a Defence lesson, he uses the dark arts, just look at him!" Harry shouted, in a split second he raised his wand and used it to tear open the sleeve of Draco's robes, revealing to the class the hated mark branded on his arm. Even though the Dark Lord was dead, Draco knew that it was still a solid black stain, and the snake still moved ever so slightly, and as the students gasped and mouths dropped open in shock his anger swelled and he turned his wand on the Potter boy.

"You going to kill me now?" he sneered, "the same way you tried to kill Dumbledore?" that was it for Draco, he shot a curse at Harry, seeing him drop to the floor before he fled the classroom, trying to escape as he felt the pain, and guilt, flooding back.

 


	3. Chapter 3

He stormed down the corridors, not even knowing where he was going. He knew that he had to keep moving, trying to work off the bubbling anger that was seething within, and yet still his anger flowed through him the form of magic, a gale force wind streaming around him making the tapestries on the wall flutter like a butterfly in a hurricane.

He kept walking, the school was huge and sprawling so he ended up never walking the same corridor twice, and by the time the lesson ended and students flooded the corridors rushing to lunch, he was still moving, the anger and rage seething. His magic was wrapped around him, rushing out and hitting everything with extreme force. Everyone moved out of his way, sprinting to get out of the path of his rage fueled magic. The fear in the other students' eyes made it seem as though one look from his stormy eyes would burn them to ashes. 

He finally began to calm down once he made it to the cool of the dungeons, making his way through the Slytherin common room before throwing himself onto his bed, where he slipped into the arms of sleep.

* * *

_The moonlight shone through the small barred window up near the ceiling. Light barely ever came down here, it was as though everything, no matter how small, that represented anything good or hopeful, shunned this place for the evil acts that were committed there._

_Draco moved forwards into the center of the room, and the thin beam of moonlight fell over his platinum locks making them shine silver in the gloom. He knelt on the ground with his head bowed, as the feet of his master came into his line of sight._

_"You have failed me Draco," came the high cold voice, which sent shivers down his spine, "You failed to obey my orders, and another had to take your place" the Dark Lord was circling him now, and Draco stayed completely rigid like a statue, "You have shown cowardice, and wavered from my orders. For this alone you will be punished" he closed his eyes, trying not to show the fear that was coursing through his body like some deadly poison, he knew what was coming next._

_"Crucio" the Dark Lord hissed, his voice laden with contempt and something else that Draco couldn't decipher before the pain hit him like a whip. His entire body ached and stung as the powerful curse tore at his muscles and made his blood boil in his veins. The pain was almost unbearable, and Draco screamed a scream that ripped at his lungs and throat, only adding to his pain._

_But he knew that it didn't matter how loud he screamed, nobody would come to his rescue, not even his mother, who was sitting only a few floors above him in their stately home. He knew that he deserved this punishment, it was his own fault for being too weak to carry out the Dark Lord's commands._

_As quickly as it had come the pain subsided, although to Draco it had felt like hours under the influence of the curse. Over the sound of his heart pounding in his brain, he heard the Dark Lord speak to someone, before leaving the dungeon. Silence settled, but only for a moment as Draco's crazed aunt stepped from the shadows towards him. He looked up at her through eyes glazed with unshed tears, saw her laugh and raise her wand, before he felt fire burning through his entire body, and hot warm blood trickle down his arm and chest from some point near his shoulder. Then it all went dark again._

* * *

Draco snapped awake, tangled in his sheets, his hair plastered to his forehead. He opened his eyes to see Blaise leaning over him concern in his eyes.

"ThankGod I've finally found you!" he exclaimed, "You should have heard the rumours at lunch, people were saying you were out for blood, and apparently some first year that couldn't move out the way fast enough is in the hospital wing with several bad burns" Draco groaned and slammed his head back down onto the pillow, this was exactly what he didn't need right now, people paying attention to him for some accident with his uncontrolled magic. Something like this hadn't happened since he was about 7, and he'd always been so good at getting rid of, or hiding his emotions.

"It's almost time for dinner, you should probably go, you've barely eaten all day, and I could do without you starving to death" Draco nodded and reluctantly got up. He wiped his face, and removed his outer robes, leaving him in just his shirt, trousers and slightly scruffy tie. His hair was ruffled and he knew he looked a mess, the rest of the school already thought he was a murderer and a criminal, what worse could they think of him now? He walked towards the door and Blaise followed behind, looking at his friend. He had gone back to the comatose, emotionless way he had been the whole term do far, and Blaise sighed inwardly. Frankly, he'd rather see Draco so angry that his natural magic could kill an innocent bystander, than see this shell of a man that was walking in front of him.

They reached the hall, and an almost eerie silence fell as the two entered. Once Draco had taken his seat after another moment of silence, the noise bounced back to normal.

But one person stayed silent, their eyes fixed on the strange man seated at the Slytherin table. He looked up at the feeling of being watched, and crystal blue eyes met with stony grey. The stone seemed to crack for a second under the warm gaze of the blue eyes, before they rehardened, more intimidating than before, causing the blue eyes to flick away and focus on something else. However the grey eyes stayed fixed on the owner of the blue eyes. And Draco took in the quiet girl that sat next to him in potions, as if seeing the girl for the first time. Eventually he looked away, focusing instead on the food in front of him, which meant he did not notice the girl look back at him once more, her eyes filled with curiosity.

 


	4. Chapter 4

That evening Draco and Blaise were relaxing in the common room. Blaise was sitting in an armchair with his feet up, attempting to do some homework, while Draco was lounging across one of the sofas with his eyes shut.

"Hey Blaise" he said quietly, Blaise's head snapped up his surprise clear on his face. Everyone knew that his experiences in the war had changed him, and that hhe barely said a word to anyone, except Blaise, who barely left his side. But in truth Draco barely spoke to him either and their conversations were very one-sided, so Blaise was very shocked when Draco actually started a conversation.

"Who is that girl I sit next to in potions?" By this point Blaise's inner self was cheering and sprinting round the common room proclaiming the good news, but instead he just sat there with a huge smile on his face. This was exactly what he had been waiting for, for Draco to show interest in another human being, and he'd honestly never expected it to happen, in his opinion this was the greatest thing to happen since the end of the war. He was also surprised that even after sitting next to and working in lessons with someone for an entire month he still didn't even know any basic information about them.

"Oh, I think her name's Isabella Jones or something. She's your bog-standard Ravenclaw, pretty smart, quite quiet" Draco nodded in response and left it there. To someone listening in this would have seemed like just an ordinary chat between friends, but to Blaise this was the best conversation he'd had with Draco in months. He knew that his best friend was haunted by the ghosts of his past, and he knew that Draco was plagued by nightmares about his time with the death eaters, a time where he had experienced horrors that Blaise could never even imagine. And he knew that Draco had scars, both mental and physical, even having seen the long scar that twisted over his collarbone that had appeared over the holidays between 6th and 7th year. Blaise was aware that the war had attacked Draco harder than anyone else he knew, his father now rotting in Azkaban, and his mother too scared to leave the Wiltshire manor. So when they returned to school for the last time, Blaise was happy to let Draco take all the time he needed to get back to his old self, and now... well now he was really starting on his way to recovery. 

* * *

Isabella threw her bag down onto her potions desk at the back of the class, she was in a foul mood today and took her seat glaring at the back of a boy's head who was sitting three rows in front of her. This was one of her favourite things about these lessons, in all her other lessons, she sat with her friends near the front or the middle of the classroom, but in Potions she got to sit at the back, which gave her a perfect view of everyone else in the class. She always got to class before her partner, but she always sat at the back as she knew that he really didn't want to be in the view of the rest of the school. She had noticed that about him, he seemed to always be in the back, hidden in the shadows, he didn't even walk down the corridors like a normal person, instead he kept to the walls and stayed hidden. As she was thinking about how he moved, he slipped into the seat next to her making her jump; she hadn't even noticed him entering.

Together they got started on the potion for that lesson, and as they watched it simmer she slipped back into her thoughts, this was another thing she like about being partnered with him, he was really good at potions, unlike all her previous partners in the subject. "Hey" she made a small noise in surprise and almost dropped the bottle she was holding as she was broken out of her thoughts.

"Er... hi?" she replied nervously, he smiled slightly, the corners of his mouth lifting.

"You're Isabella right?" she was shocked, she didn't even think that he knew her name, as they had never even talked in lessons before. She nodded dumbly, not even knowing what to say. 

"I'm Draco, but I'm sure you already know that" he muttered.

"Nice to finally hear you speak" she said after a small pause. He made a small noise, like a muffled laugh.

"You're one of the first, since the..." he trailed off, and Isabella noticed that his voice was quiet and had a harsh quality to it like he hadn't spoken in months, which, she thought to herself, was probably true actually.

"They say that you'll only talk to your friend, what's his name? Oh yeah, Zabini. Well I'm honoured that you chose to talk to me," she said with a small smile, and for the first time she saw a small but genuine smile on his face.

"Well, they're wrong there, I barely even speak to Blaise anymore, I just don't have anything I want to talk about anymore" She was shocked that he was suddenly telling her all of these things, this was the first time he'd spoken in a class all year, and she was even more confused as to why he was talking to her.

Their conversation ended there, but for the rest of the lesson she sat there, wondering why he would choose to speak to her of all people? Then when the lesson ended he hurried away without even acknowledging the girl next to him. She got up from her seat in a daze and joined her friends, who gave her worried looks, before sharing a glance with each other in confusion.

"Hey Izzy, is everything okay?" Padma asked, confusion heavy in her tone.

"Huh? Oh yeah, yeah everything's fine, just thinking that's all" she replied slowly. Her friend nodded, looking at her with slight concern, before carrying on the walk to lunch in silence.


	5. Chapter 5

It was after dinner when Draco and Blaise returned to the common room. Draco threw himself down onto a sofa, staring up at the ceiling, clearly already deep in thought. Blaise tended to find himself wondering what he could constantly be thinking about, or even remembering, more and more these days. He sighed, another new constant habit, and took a seat, starting on some of his work.

As he finished his Defence work, he glanced over at his friend, only to see that his eyes had closed and he had drifted off to sleep. Blaise smiled tiredly. He knew Draco barely slept anymore, and whenever he looked over at his friend in the long nights he was either wide awake or in the midst of a feverish dream. It was calming to see him asleep so peacefully.

* * *

_He looked up at the large door in front of him, swallowing nervously. A pale hand was placed on his shoulder and his eyes flickered to the figure that was his father standing behind him. Draco turned his head slightly to see his mother sitting elegantly on the sofa, her face was emotionless as always but her eyes gave away a sheer terror that was eating at her mind. He moved his head back to look at the imposing dark wood doors in front of him. Inhaling deeply he nodded his head and took a step forward as the doors swung open to reveal the room beyond._

_It was filled with men in black robes wearing the signature masks that recognised them as followers of the dark lord. As the doors opened they moved to create a path to the throne at the other end of the room. Draco straightened his back as he stepped towards the dark lord seated in the throne. He dared not look at the snake-like features of the wizard, instead bowing his head and kneeling at his pale feet. He could see the scuffed boots of his aunt standing to the right of the throne, and attempted to refrain from flinching as a large viper slithered towards him, circling his kneeling form before returning to its master._

_"I am impressed Lucius" said the high cold voice, "Nagini tells me your son does not fear what is happening here"_

_"Th...thank you my Lord" he heard his father stutter._

_"But he had not proved himself yet..." there was the quiet rustle of robes as the dark lord stood._

_"Crucio" And then there was pain. It knocked him over, and set his muscles on fire. It was worse than anything he had ever experienced in his life. His heart felt like it was being torn from his chest. For the first time ever he thanked his father for preparing him for the torture to come as he held in the screams that would only further provoke the dark lord._

_After what seemed like hours the pain ceased but he could still feel the twitching in his muscles. Voldemort retook his seat, leaving Draco lying curled on the cold stone._

_"Rise Draco" he said in his sibilant hiss of a voice. When Draco did not move immediately he felt a sharp pain in his back._

_"You will do as the Dark Lord says!" Bellatrix screeched. He slowly rose back to his feet as Voldemort turned once more towards his father._

_"You have trained him well Lucius, I shall expect great things" he turned, once again back to face Draco, and now he could fully see the pale snake-like face and the gleaming red eyes, "Give me your arm" he said holding out his hand. Draco placed his left forearm into the palm of the dark lord. Voldemort placed the tip of the wand there, and then there was heat flooding through Draco's arm. It slowly became more and more intense, the pain becoming worse than that of even the Dark Lord's powerful cruciatus curse. This time he couldn't refrain from screaming as a jet black snake of ink wound its way through his arm, curling round and round, as it formed the dark mark on his forearm. He continued screaming in pain as the mark formed, still able to hear the high cold laugh of the Dark Lord, even through a mind clouded with pain._

_He fell to his knees, as Voldemort let go his arm, still throbbing with pain._

_"Welcome Draco, we will expect great things from you."_

* * *

Blaise's eyes flicked towards his friend as he started twitching in his sleep, a now regular occurrence, he ignored it, finally finishing his work he packed it into his bag, before leaving the common room, taking his bag to his dorm. He sat down on the four poster bed, leaning back, exhausted. His eyes slipped closed momentarily, before snapping open as he heard someone shouting his name. Jumping up and pulling open the door, he rushed out to find a 6th year shouting for him from the bottom of the stairs.

"What is it?" he called down.

"You've got to come we don't know what's wrong, hurry!" the younger student shouted back. At this Blaise threw himself down the stairs, bursting into the common room, where he immediately knew what was wrong.

Everyone seemed frozen in fear, all eyes fixed in the same place. Exactly where he had left him, he found Draco lying there writhing and screaming the same phrase over and over, 'It burns!' Blaise rushed over grabbing his arm to prevent Draco from clawing at his own arm. As he moved the man's arm he saw that the sleeve of his shirt had been torn, revealing his dark mark, which had turned a pulsing black that made it even more terrifying to look at. He started as Draco continued thrashing.

"Draco, wake up!" he shouted, shaking the sleeping boy. Eventually he snapped awake, sitting up suddenly, his eyes wild and bloodshot. He shot up, shoving his friend to the ground, trying to run up the stairs to the dormitory before collapsing to the ground.

Blaise quickly ran to his friend, kneeling beside him, before turning to the watching students.

"Evans, go fetch Madam Pomfrey," he said turning back to his now unconscious friend, as the 6th year left the room quickly.

 


	6. Chapter 6

Draco winced as a flash of pain shot through his arm. His eyelids were heavy, and he couldn’t force them to open. He could hear hushed voices near him. Straining to hear them, he caught the familiar tones of Blaise murmuring to somebody.

“…be okay? Do you have any idea what could have happened?” someone sighed before speaking. This voice, while it took him a second longer to recognise, was almost as familiar as the other.

“I’m not yet sure Mr Zabini, however I am surprised something like this hasn’t happened sooner, he seems utterly exhausted in all respects. Now, we should leave him to rest for now. And don’t fret, I will ensure to notify you the moment Mr Malfoy awakes.” The hushed tones of Madam Pomfrey were followed by the rustlings of his friend being hurried out by the matronly woman.

In the distance the doors closed and a heavy silence once more fell in the large room. The soft light of the early evening glowed through his closed eyelids. And in the gentle warmth of the hospital bed, he drifted off to sleep once more.

* * *

 

It was still early the next morning when there was a soft knocking at the door to her office, and Madam Pomfrey rose from her desk. Upon opening the door, she ushered in the headmistress who quickly placed herself in the chair opposite Madam Pomfrey’s desk.

“How can I help you Minerva?” she asked once the usual pleasantries were out of the way. McGonagall adjusted her glasses and sighed lightly.

“It came to my attention that Draco Malfoy was admitted to the hospital wing yesterday afternoon, and I have only just had a break in my schedule in which I could pay you a visit.” Pomfrey nodded slightly.

“Yes, Mr Malfoy is still resting, but I will take you to him.” The two women rose and exited the office, heading through the hospital wing towards a bed on the left side of the room which had the pale green curtains drawn around it. Stepping through the curtains they were greeted with the sight of the sleeping boy on the bed. His brow was glistening with sweat, and he was tossing and turning lightly under the sheets. Muttered words slipped past his lips, and even though McGonagall tried to make them out, they were incoherent. “I’ve already given him a small dose of Dreamless Sleep potion,” Pomfrey told her. She turned to Madam Pomfrey with one eyebrow arched.

“I know Minerva” she sighed, “It is sad how frequent I have been getting cases like this. The majority of students who were there have been affected in one way or another. But this is one of the worse cases I’ve seen, his dreams must be truly powerful to override the potion.”

“Hardly surprising though is it? I’m certain that none of us can even begin to imagine what Malfoy must have seen and been made to do in the last few years. We must keep a close eye on him Poppy. After all there is only so much even the strongest mind can cope with.”

Twenty minutes later, the door to the infirmary was closing behind the headmistress and Madam Pomfrey was left staring down at the young man as he flinched in his sleep and she could do nothing to help him for now.

* * *

Isabella strode away from her potions lesson towards DADA, her thoughts heavy in her mind. Malfoy had not attended their lesson, which had surprised her greatly, for no matter how ill he had looked at times in the past few weeks he hadn’t missed a single lesson. Once she reached the classroom she took her usual seat next to Padma near the front. Glancing back towards the desk where Malfoy usually sat, Isabella was rather unsurprised to see Blaise Zabini at their desk alone. No matter how swiftly Malfoy left the Potions classroom, he always seemed to be the last to arrive to the next lesson. But when Malfoy didn’t turn up for the rest of the lesson her concern only grew. Once the professor had finished, and the students started to leave, she quickly gathered her stuff and stopped Blaise before he could get too far from the classroom.

“Hey, Zabini!” she called as she grabbed his sleeve, “Where’s Malfoy? He missed potions today” the boy’s face dropped at her words. She let go of his sleeve as he turned to face her fully.

“Oh, Draco’s in the hospital wing at the moment.” He said softly, glancing over their shoulders to ensure no one was overhearing his words. Her face dropped.

“Will he be okay?” she asked carefully.

“Yeah, Pomfrey said it’s probably just exhaustion.” Isabella nodded her head looking relieved, thanked him quickly before leaving. As she walked away a soft smile slipped onto Blaise’s face. The girl had seemed genuinely concerned about Draco. And Draco definitely needed people on his side these days with the hell he was going through.

* * *

 

By lunch Isabella had made up her mind, she headed towards the Hospital wing. Slipping in through the large double doors, she made her way silently past two beds, where Madam Pomfrey was tending to what looked like a minor duelling incident, and over to one of the few other occupied beds in the room. It was the only one which had the curtains drawn, and so it quickly registered that this must be where Malfoy was. Quietly, she drew the curtain aside slightly, her eyes meeting with the still form of the young man lying on the bed. Slipping through and pulling the curtains shut behind her, she took a seat in the chair near the bed, taking in the sight in front of her. The man on the bed was pale, his face gaunt with heavy dark rings under his eyes. He was terribly skinny, and the hand that lay above the sheets was verging on skeletal. And yet Draco looked the most peaceful she had ever seen him, in stark contrast to his usual shifty, nervous energy.

Glancing to the bedside cabinet, her eyes rested on a half empty vial of a shimmering purple potion. Isabella’s mind immediately supplied it as Dreamless Sleep potion, and she gently picked it up and lightly sniffed the contents, the scent was slightly stronger than usual as was the colour, so she guessed it to be a slightly stronger concentration than average. This would normally have been slightly concerning, as if overused the potion could have disastrous consequences, but in this case she trusted Madam Pomfrey to know what she was doing. And looking at Draco, it was clear that he was desperately in need of a good night’s rest.

Placing the vial back on the cabinet, she cast one more glance towards him and then began to leave. Just as she rested her hand on the curtain, she paused. Turning back slightly she muttered a spell with a slight wave of her wand towards the cabinet, before she turned and left as quickly as she’d come.

* * *

 

Draco’s eyes opened slowly, still weighted with sleep despite his mind feeling more refreshed than when he had closed them. He heard movement and then a muttered spell and his eyes snapped open just in time to see a figure turn their back and leave the curtained area, leaving a slight gap in the curtains behind them, he watched as they walked the length of the hospital wing before slipping through the doors. The presence was quickly replaced as Madam Pomfrey bustled in.

“Ah Mr Malfoy, you’re awake. I just want you to stay here for another couple of hours and then you’ll be free to go. Oh, those are some rather pretty flowers dear,” she said, finally drawing his attention to the cabinet next to him. Resting on top was a glass vase containing several rather beautiful flowers, all with the most delicate grey petals. And Draco couldn’t help but wonder why the Jones girl would leave him such a gift.


End file.
